Legends of Runeterra

So patch 3.1 would have been an interesting time to adjust some underplayed Champs going into the new expansion.

However we didn't get that which means things are set going into the expansion on the 16th and.beyond.

Future patches post expansion will likely focus on adjusted newly released cards.

So if you were desperately waiting on a Garen or Katarina buff, that isn't happening.

So I'll see you all in 16 days.

this week was patch week if i not mistaken why out of cards didnt post the patch notes? i am  away from runeterra for a while playing other stuff but i was looking foward to a new patch to see some new path of champions stuff. any info will be apreciated, thanks in advance guys!

We got some pretty big shifts in the S tier again.

Not gonna waste much time.

Pirate aggro is in S tier again, some would argue mostly me that it never left based solely on the numbers it just got outshined by pre nerf Poppy.

Scouts, hey can't complain about this deck being in S tier, it has a clear champ focused wincon and Quin is just kinda cool from a design perspective.

Spiders drops down, to A only because one pure aggro deck gets to be in S tier and pirate aggro has always been more consistent for like the last two years...but it's nice to see the rankings reflect the obvious.

Zed rally drops down too, mainly because Kenin Ahiri can stun Zed all day and rallies become useless.

Honestly minus Kenin it's basically Bilgewater meta, and if you liked that you will be happy, if you hated it well too bad.

We'll talk about something other than meta shifts when there is something else to actually talk about.

This is something that I wanted to talk about for a while. If you look at some of the recent top tier decks that used Demacia ( Sivir/Akshan, Poppy/Zed, Pantheon) you notice that it is is mostly used as a support region, you basically use Demacia whenever you need the following cards ( Single Combat, Concerted Strike, Golden Aegis, Sharpsight, Brightsteel Protector ).

Barring a few exception Demacia's followers and champions don't seem to make it into competitive decks, the reason for that is, well at least in my opinion, is because Demacia lacks finishers unit's that can ignore chump blocker to deal damage directly to face, most of Demacia champions and followers are good at trading but they struggle with closing the game.

Regions like Shurima, Targon and Ionia tend abuse the above cards because they have access to unit's with overwhelm and elusive. If you opponent use a Cataclysm on Jarvan IV that just mean your going to lose a unit but a Cataclysm on Pantheon usually mean that you will lose the game. 

Taking all of that into account it's no surprise that the Demacian champion who had the most success in the competitive scene is Fiora because she had an alternate win con, that also why Jarvan/Shen could never be as dominant as Fiora/Shen despite sharing 90% of it's card with that deck.

So how do we fix this problem? how do we give Demacia finisher? Well the obvious answer would be just give them unit's with elusive or overwhelm. But that just seem to be a lazy fix to me, plus elusive does not make sense from a lore perceptive ( Demecia is know for it's big mighty army, that is as far from stealthy as it get's ).

The first one is fearsome Cithria the Bold is one the few, good Demacian finisher having seen play in both MF/Quinn and Fiora/Shen and what does she do? she give your board fearsome plus a stat boost, plus it fits from lore perspective big armies are fearsome and let's no forget about the anti-mage secret police that kingdom have.

The other mechanic that comes to mind is the very underused give unit "can't block," Demacia is know for petricite a substance that nullify magic, mageseekers use it to restrain mages preventing them from defending themselves similar to how "can't block " prevent your opponent from using his unit's to defend his nexus.

Anyway this post ended up being longer than expected, so what do you guys think?

I just recently got back into playing, and I'm definitely having fun.

I think I'm a bit weird in this small community, given that I actually play on ladder, and I don't really get stressed about it. After the recent balance changes, I played a fair bit with Daring Poros, because I will always have a soft spot for those guys. My first ever Masters was accomplished with Poros, back when no one thought they were any good.

Still, I did want to play a bit with some actual champions, so I have also been using Lulu/Ahri and enjoying that as well.

When not competing on the ladder, I've managed to clear Path of Champions with the first 5 champs and got the rewards and all. It was definitely engaging, but I'm not sure how much motivation I'll have to keep playing that. At least not as much as I had for playing the old, original Lab of Legends.

What about the rest of you fine folks? What are you enjoying these days?

https://youtu.be/dweH2TQ-Vdw

All jokes aside there are certain early indicators that perhaps the excitement for the overall direction of the game is starting to decline.

Bruised By God 3 weeks ago went on a meta rant with reddit and largely hasn't been playing much since (largely saying Champs aren't as flexible as they used to be aka are worse)

Mogwai and Swim typically spend more time not covering the game than they do over the past year. Like Swim used to break Runeterra with his decks like it was a fulltime job.

Generally awareness and excitement for the game among casual players and the community at large is fading.

Like at the end of the day of Champs aren't A) flexible B) win cons C) flashy nobody is going.to play this game over Hearthstone which has literally been on the market for like 20 years.

Am I trolling not really, the more time every one spends with their panties in a bunch the faster the game will die with us too afraid to have legitimate discussions about design and balance.

Case study: In MTG when Tefari Time Raveler was released in Dominaria he basically broke the game...and that was okay he had a good run and he got banned when necessary but God what a good card sold well too.

When Ekko released in Legends he was fun but under-powered in-flexible and under-baked. He remains at a negative winrate in the only deck he's playable something like 6-8 month after release. This is bad people...it's bad for hard-core players its bad for monetization at Riot and it's bad for the casual player base too.

Case study 2: Nautelus the coolest Champ Riot has made remains at a negative winrate 2 years after release...yes this is also bad people. Better to let the card be broken like Oko for 3 months than for him to stay like wet fart in the wind. God I feel bad for deep players they literally only get 1 playable deck and it's bad.

Case study 3: Yassao! Literally a ronin samurai with a katana, and practically one of the faces of League of Legends and he's unplayable...Jinx is too. The reality is that 95% of the Champs in this game are bad, and if they arent bad they were nerfed until they were bad.

I dont want to play a card game where the main selling point of its existence as a video game is being massochistically tortured out of its own design philosophy.

https://lor.mobalytics.gg/meta-tier-list

Hey look they did that thing I suggested...hey look spider aggro is in S tier who guessed that....maybe you guys should stop bad mouthing me when my calls and suggestions literally are meta before the meta?

S tier - Spiders, Ahiri, rally, Pantheon

A tier - everything else

Wow they literally even kicked Lee Sin of the tier list entirely not sure who called that? Need I go on guys, money talks bs walks.

Like some of the high minded stuff like the general decline of champ based win cons in favor of over powered followers...we might not really see the ramifications of that for a other year but it will happen if Riot doesn't start changing up its knee jerk champ nerf reactions in favor of buffing other weaker under played Champs.

Like its not enough that a ton of amazing decks have either dropped a tier or have disappeared all together practically overnight? How big and bright does the bat signal need to be till we start taking notice?

Man the tier list is straight up out the window right now.

https://lor.mobalytics.gg/stats/regions

When you actually examine the up to date win rates for decks the existing tier lists are essentially useless.

We have seen a massive number of decks drop to a barely playable winrate like 51%

So I'll list only the decks that are currently 53% and higher, yes the list is kinda scuffed.

1. Kenin Ahiri 57% combo is doing well into the grindy card piles people are running

2. Spider aggro 57% yeeep good old Elise perhaps the best vanilla champ

3. Pirate aggro 56% never went anywhere always was good always will  be

4. Lurk 55% the most resilient midrange deck in Runeterra will always have a place

5. Pantheon 54% Whiteflame is a good card bro

6. Rally Zed 54% you know the drill

7. Darkness 53% solid control

8. Poros 53% grindy aggro

Everything else has dropped to 0 like a bullet. Plunder midrange get out of here, poppy decks gone, yordle burn gone, Sion never knew yeee, Akshan who? Lee Sin what? 

Honestly it's time for a new mobalytics tier list  because all these nerfs, plus the recent buffs, plus meta defining grindy cards like white flame have absolutely upset the meta.

Post buffs the most exciting deck I wanted to explore was mono shurima.

Basically carrying on the back of three important changes. Sun disc is free now, empire ascended is 6 mana and xerath got a point of health.

All of this means we can meme with movie time and lose less often.

So this is the version I settled on tripple Azir tripple Xerath feel best. One buffs your deck the other puts your opponent on a clock.

The next problem to solve is A how do we have board presence and B how do we remove stuff so the opponent doesn't steam roll us. Problem C how do we protect Champs and disc.

For A I chose count down reducers at 2, 3, and 5 mana. If they are just gonna trade anyway let them do the thing we want them to do. Plus treasure seeker, big sand boy devalues swings.

For B I chose right of the arcane and unworthy as removal options.

For C its basically soothsayer or bust.

So thats it that the deck, is it slow and kind of a meme absolutely, but youre already limiting yourself to a meme deck so might as well play the best version.

So we finally get a look at what the devs think needs to be improved from an archetype perspective.

The big winner is control...vengeance is 6 mana this one mana difference is game changing. It's actually possible to pass pass into like a Zigs kill if your hand is super heavy.

Freijord changes to anivia and and trundle again I'm like not the biggest fan of this deck but it should punish infinite value Bandle decks and Heimer, Zoe etc. So thats great. The deck also has an actual identity and unique play flavor and I'm all about that.

Kindred goes down to 4 mana and Xerath gets a point of health big buffs to the I just want you to stick to the board Champs. I have said before that in skilled hands Xerath has no skill ceiling and now that he's that much harder clear he's a real threat.

Mono shurima now gets to auto play its landmark and again 6 mana instead of 7 mana to auto level its Champs to tier 3. Hey look Riot is putting the fun back in there game...great stuff I'd like to see more of this.

Reminds me of when they buffed braum he was basically unplayable before and now he's at least a little scary as like a hard counter. I could almost see Fiora and Shen having their nerfs reverted because again we want these champs playable, for the sake of fun.

I think Riots getting that so a few more buff passes like this one and I think the game will be in a much more "unbalanced" but funner (not a real word) state.

So its well known that Runeterra is the most balanced card game in the genre.

It does this by sacrificing powerful archetypes with unique flavor upon the nerf cross over and over again until everything is essentially equal.

Case and point, I look and see what Graplr the only streamer still supporting the game daily is playing and its Heimer Zoe with Whiteflame?

So basically infinite value soup with zero synergy or deck flavor. I don't know about you guys but when I see that I'm just craving the days when I could get rushed down by pirate aggro, or Azir sandman, or a Zillian Ekko deck went infinite on me, or Ezreal burned me down, or Poppy built an insane board or a million other unique and interesting independent deck builds existed and were sucessful.

They were sucessful not because.they were balanced but because.they weren't, and that's the real story here, "synergy" means when I run this card with that other card they are better than than both those cards alone...without synergy you don't have decks, and you dont have a card game.

I know I've been harping on this but it seems like people are starting to agree with the whole do the regions, Champs, followers, and spells have enough flavor. The answer they did before.that flavor was nerfed out of existence.

Riot stop nerfing and start buffing seriously, we get roughly 20 nerfs to every single buff on average and it's killing the "synergy" it's killing the "decks" its killing the "fun" in your game.

So Bruised by God one of the best Runeterra players strictly on ladder has come out to say that he thinks the Kenin Ezreal nerf was heavy handed.

https://youtu.be/7TGeMe3REbw

I personally agree, because the only thing keeping infinite value decks in cheque aka shellfolk cycle shenanigans (as an example) was the very real threat that you would just instantly lose queuing into a combo matchup that would just burn you down to 0 even if you had 100 cards.

That threat is gone now, taking the matchup options of aggro-> midrange -> control-> combo down to essentially midrange/aggro/control soup aka I start agressive, cycle hard, play midrange threats and then transition into infinite value lategame.

You compound this lack of deck building identity with limited viable champion compositions, and I can understand his frustration and the general lack of engagement with the game from popular streamers like Swim and Mogwai.

Afterall how can you cry for a nerf and simultaneously be responsible for the dumbing down of the game by limiting the deck building variety and matchup tables, and champ compositions.

Now this is more of an overall trend in the game, a lot of interesting and viable decks have been nerfed into the ground leading into a lack of build identity. I think Shen can be pushed back on top to fight dragons, Azir Irelia can be pushed back to fight aggro, and Fizz Tf can be pushed back to counter control, and yes Ezreal Kenin can be pushed to counter value decks.

If everything is broken and unbalanced by definition nothing will be and it will lead to more dynamic and unpredictable matchups and play experiences. Just my two cents, what do you guys think?

Ladder experiences are driven by heroes and Villains. You as the deck brewer have something to prove you want to beat that meta deck into the ground everyone else says is so op, but what happens when there are no villains anymore.

Lor is a fascinating case study because it is essentially the most balanced digital card game in existence to the extent that they will never need to rotate cards and only live balance changes will effect potential deck performance outcomes.

Case and point, Pirate aggro! People stopped playing this deck largely out of boredom but it still puts up numbers I'm talking 57% percent winrates currently right now making it essentially one of the best decks in the game.

But it isn't a villain and it's isn't played enough to be worth counter brewing against and very little satisfaction comes from beating it.

Lee Sin by comparison is not an amazing deck hovering between 51 and 52 percent winrate but it's play patterns are dynamic enough to stick in the mind of the looser.

You are getting beaten 100% when Lee Sin kicks you down to 0. My point is for me personally I find myself playing LOR far more when there is essentially a boss deck to beat, and far less when people can run any midrange soup and win.

Don't pressure the devs to hotfix too fast in the future, enjoy each stage of the meta as it progresses, and let things breathe a bit...otherwise it's just gonna be Bilgewater for literally the next 10 years of this games life cycle.

When Kennen first came along, I discovered in my first match that you don't have to play just recalled units for his trigger to level up. Any duplicate unit will work. This has led me to the question? What other play styles and champions does he pair with? Bellow is my first experiment.

As you can see, is focuses on fielding units (at best, the Encroaching Mist) and then recalling and copying them to re-trigger their effects. I think this is a deck style that could be used with other unit spam champions like Azir but what do you think? What are other creative ways to speed level Kennen? Or use his support cards to buff other decks?

PS: I'm also looking for feedback on this deck. It plays well, but not great and I'm looking for ways to improve.

Keep in mind I never played Kenin Ezreal I am simple going imperically based on stats.

The deck has gone from a commanding 55% winrate to a 45% winrate. Putting Lee back as the best Ionia deck seeing it go up 1% to 52.

Honestly I don't know if it was actually worth it, like if you enjoy midrange decks absolutely they are doing better control is also doing better.

But it hasn't shaken up the meta in the way people thought, while simultaneously killing an entire archetype just because people couldn't tech properly or play the matchup.

So on the one hand you have a new champ being murdered one week into his release, just so the other decks can go up 2% on ladder like it seems like maybe the reaction was too strong here.

But on the other hand if a deck like Azir Irelia could be considered meta altering maybe Kenin was just as bad, who's to say.

What do you guys think?

https://lor.mobalytics.gg/stats/decks

Honestly, I consider everything about these new stats to be absolutely terrifying.

All the decks are extremely strong and versatile and their winrates have gone through the roof.

1. Dragons already called that one plus 55%

2. Lisandra plus 55% 

3. Midrange plunder plus 55%

4. Pantheon plus 55%

I guess ezreal was keeping these decks in cheque and now that he's gone they are absolutely dominating

So no longer do you need to tech against aggro and combo now it's how the hell do you deal with all these midrange powerhouses?

Honestly, I don't know it's very possible something like a Lee Sin combo deck will ultimately be the tournament answer, but that lineup is scary and difficult to play against.

Maybe a new king of aggro will emerge and start pressuring from the other end as well, and that's usually when midrange starts to take a hit, but right now it's open season.

So we talk a lot about meta, and card balance, and what Champs are strongest.

But sometimes it's worth drawing back the curtain on matchups we personally struggle with  and anything excluded is relatively easy to deal with or tech against, or play against.

1. Dragons - it challenges and strikes with demacia, it grows large midrange threats, and ramps into Asol...this deck scares me because it essentially perfect at being equally good into everything and the best decks often are.

2. Infinite cycle Heimer - kill one thing and they play another, and another and another and another...this deck is control proof and midrange proof so it's everything I hate.

3. Deep & Lurk - something about these decks just very menacing, one is an excellent tournament deck that is just waiting for its time, and the other will just steam roll you if you arent playing perfectly

4.  Ahiri - out of all the new Ionia cards Ahiri is the trickiest to deal with. Amazing stat line for mana with the best keyword, and she basically has elusive too. You enter into a tough situation do you sharpsite the droplet only to eat a twin disciples no you don't so you eat dmg every turn and it's death of a thousand cuts 

5. Rumble - the ultimate do you have the answer card, you can just throw it out. Much like Sivir it's just a pain but unlike her he has a much better level up, but if he does get answered you just loose.

6. Xerath, I have a lot of respect for players who main this guy because his play pattern when run well is exceptionally erratic and unpredictable. Will you beat him most of the time sure but it will be scary the whole time.

So yeah thats it for my list, once again I don't believe these are the best or most competitive decks just the lists that impact me the most when playing against them. 

Things like aggro, and Ezreal you run into so often you can run those matches in your sleep.

Hey everyone,

New to the game and this genre of game in general. I've spend most my resources on freljord and shadow isle cards. As far as champs go in the region I like using Elise and Ashe, but they don't seem to synergize well. 

My deck is also reliant on high level and mid level cards, but it seems like I'm always expect a big card to get me out of trouble. Assuming that's not the way to go.   

Can someone recommend a deck within those regions? I'll just swap out what I don't have. I don't have any poro cards. 

Thanks in advance. 

Yordle Trible, Kenin Ezreal, Pirate aggro all got hit pretty hard.

So you pretty much won't need to hard tech into these decks anymore and learn to win these matchups properly.

I think a lot of people will be happy about that, and honestly I am too.

Just because something is possible to beat if you work at it hard enough, doesn't mean every player should be required to exist in such a restrictive build space:

1. Poppy is a 2/3 or a 3/4 on swing

2. Ionia allegiance now requires you to run two different 1 drops you can't tutor duplicates

3. The bounce landmark had its countdown increased

4. The yordle Tribal 2 drop only buffs attack now

5. Gangplank is a 5/4

In most cases these decks and archetypes will require rebuilding and I'm happy to show off some options here except for pirate aggro because who cares:

First up splashing yordle mechs might give yordle Tribal a little more sustain. As for discard fodder you have 2 different owl generators, and squire.

Its very possible Kenin drops allegiance all together now that both allegiance and combo speed have been nerfed for a more sustained midrange play style, maybe even Yassao will see play in my dreams.

Yeah so you're getting stunned, you're getting comboed out, and burst down and you can't do anything. I know it's frustrating, the meta decks just aren't cutting it right now, and you dont want to play the mirror.

Well boys I've got you covered here are 3 deck concepts that all do well into Kenin, you could call them control lists but they play like midrange.

1. Just challenge everything

Drag that little ****** with laurent protégé or bird as soon as he comes down, and then drag everything else over and over until you get the concede. Keep your singles and sharpsights for reactive plays.

2. Nami TF control

Pings all day long, and lots of attune and draw to keep things flexible. Probably the only "infinite" cycling deck I enjoy because there is some skill involved.

3. Slay Control

Vulnerable is almost as good as challenger, and we have things like vile feast and other sweepers to keep the party rolling. Has the addeded benefit of playing well into other midrange decks.

So yeah if you don't like these lists just build your own, remembering that if you can't out control the combo deck you have to out aggro them consistently so that limits your deck building option to low curve threats like pirate aggro etc. and most people already know those lists so here are the more interesting options.

---Bonus--- 

Swain decks are always strong in combo situations because youre essentially putting them on a clock to go off and they don't run a ton of non self bounces sometimes none. So yeah thats basically all the regions so you can counter Kenen with pretty much anything you want to greater or lesser effect as long as its built right.